Apple’s new Screen Distance feature helps protect your kids' eyes. Here is how to use iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 to enjoy it.
Myopia is increasing in children today. One of the risk factors could be the ubiquity of smartphones in their lives and specifically the fact that they hold the screen too close to their face. Apple has decided to address this issue. During the WWDC last June, the Cupertino firm introduced with iOS 17 a new feature called Screen Distance that invites you to move the screen away from your face when you keep it too long too close to your face.
How Does iOS 17 Screen Distance Work
Screen distance uses the TrueDepth camera on the device to check if the screen is at least 30 cm away from your eyes. That’s why you need an iPhone or iPad with Face ID. Only these devices have the sensors to assess the distance. Screen Distance data is not captured in images or videos throughout the process, according to Apple, and it is never shared with the company.
If you or your child is holding the iPhone or iPad too close to their face, a warning message appears on the screen, and you cannot use the device until the device is far enough away and the Continue button is pressed. However, this warning does not appear immediately, you must keep the phone or tablet too close to the faces for about five minutes for this.
How to make iOS 17's Screen Distance available
At the time of writing, Screen Distance is available in the public beta versions of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. As this is beta, you should properly backup all data from your devices before installing it. Ideally, try this on a secondary iPhone or iPad instead of your main device.
Once the device is running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, you can go to Settings > Screen Time > Screen Distance and turn on Screen Distance. If you have set a code for Screen Time, you will need to enter it.
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